Football

The North Branford football team hosted divisional opponent Old Saybrook-Westbrook for its second game of the 2022 season last week. The Thunderbirds posted a 48-6 win versus the Rams at Colafati Field to improve their overall record to 1-1 with a mark of 1-1 in the Pequot Conference Sassacus Division.

North Branford scored 21 points in each of the first two quarters to take a 42-0 halftime advantage over OS-W in last week’s game. Senior Mason Provencher threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to fellow senior AJ Johnson for the T-Birds’ first score. Sophomore Tommy Hansen scored on a 7-yard rush and then senior Jack Meehan ran for a 2-yard TD to close out the opening period.

Hansen had touchdown runs of 5 and 4 yards for North Branford in the second quarter. Senior Jace Kamienski added a 4-yard TD rush to make it 42-0 at the break.

Following a scoreless third quarter, senior Dom Langello returned an interception for a 41-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to increase the lead to 49-0. OS-W followed by scoring the last touchdown of the night for the 49-6 final.

Hansen had 15 carries for 146 yards and 3 TDs in the victory. Jace Kamienski ran the ball 4 times for 50 yards and a score, while senior Ian Kamienski had 2 rushes for 33 yards.

Provencher was 3-of-3 for 60 yards and a touchdown for North Branford. Ian Kamienski had 2 catches for 39 yards, and senior Eric Izzo caught 2 passes for 25 yards. Izzo also kicked 4 extra points and tossed a 2-point conversion to senior Eli Defaranos.

Junior Luke Blomster played a huge game on defense by recording 3 sacks for the Thunderbirds. Langello had a sack to go with his interception return for a TD. Senior Tyler Serenson also posted a sack for North Branford.

Serenson had 14 tackles to lead the T-Birds in that department. Senior Dradon Brindisi made 12 tackles, and Blomster had 10 tackles on the night. Junior Braden Burns made 8 tackles, junior Chris Olsen and fellow junior Lucian DePino both had 6 tackles, and Meehan and junior Patrick LeBeau added 5 tackles apiece.

North Branford will be on the road to face Stafford-East Windsor-Somers, which has a record of 1-1, for its next game on Friday, Sept. 23. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Stafford High School.

Field Hockey

The North Branford field hockey team continued its strong start to the season by earning a pair of victories last week. The Thunderbirds are sporting a record of 4-0 through the early goings of the 2022 campaign.

North Branford kicked off its week by posting a 2-0 shutout over Haddam-Killingworth in a home game on Sept. 13. Junior Sophia Toto and sophomore Joanna Lamot scored the T-Birds’ goals in the victory. Junior Keana Criscuolo had an assist. Freshman Ashlyn O’Rourke picked up the win in net for North Branford.

Then on Sept. 16, the T-Birds hit the road to face Old Saybrook and notched a 4-2 victory over the Rams.

Girls’ Volleyball

The North Branford girls’ volleyball team had a pair of matches on its schedule last week. The T-Birds came away from the slate with two wins to boost their record to 3-1 for the fall season.

North Branford hosted Morgan on Sept. 12 and claimed a 3-2 victory over the Huskies. Then on Sept. 16, the T-Birds played a road match against Cromwell and blanked the Panthers by a 3-0 final.

Boys’ Soccer

The North Branford boys’ soccer team played home games against Old Lyme and Westbrook last week. The T-Birds took defeats in both contests to move to 0-3 on the season.

North Branford took a 9-1 home loss to Old Lyme on Sept. 13. Three days later, the Thunderbirds hosted Westbrook and dropped a 4-0 decision against the Knights.

Girls’ Soccer

The North Branford/Hale-Ray (NB/H-R) girls’ soccer squad had three road games on its schedule last week. The Thunderbirds took three defeats to put their record at 0-4 on the year.

On Sept. 12, NB/H-R took a 4-0 loss versus Old Lyme in a road game. Then on Sept. 15, the T-Birds were back on the road to face Westbrook and lost the contest by a 3-1 score. North Branford finished off the week by losing to Haddam-Killingworth by a 5-0 score on Sept. 17.